Grand Theft Auto has maintained its reputation as a franchise set in America, but according to an ex-Rockstar dev, the company was once surprisingly close to making a game set in Tokyo. Over the years, Grand Theft Auto has ventured to its own fictional cities, like Vice City and San Andreas, and it's fascinating trying to picture what Rockstar's version of Tokyo would have looked like.
The Grand Theft Auto franchise has focused on crime-filled stories centered around heists and the darker corners of society, but despite the mature subject matter, Rockstar also approaches it with a wild sense of humor. GTA games have been satirical takes on American pop culture and its relationship with crime, and while that's been a solid match-up, it's also compelling to imagine a scenario where Rockstar ventured outside America and made its way to a different country. According to one of Rockstar's former technical directors, Japan was a real possibility at one moment, and it could have marked a seriously big turning point for the crime-focused franchise.
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A Tokyo-Based Grand Theft Auto Would Have Changed the Franchise's Legacy
In an exclusive interview with GamesHub, Rockstar North's ex-technical director, Obbe Vermejj, revealed that the company was once considering venturing out to other countries and cities, with Tokyo being the closest to becoming a reality. According to Vermeij, Rockstar even had a Japan-based developer on board to take over the project. When talking about the game, Vermeij said, "Tokyo almost actually happened. Another studio in Japan were going to do it, take our code and do GTA: Tokyo. But then that didn’t happen in the end." Unfortunately, that's about all the information that Vermeij gave in the interview. Of course, development never officially began on the project, but with a Japanese developer lined up for production, it's clear that it was at least once seriously considered. GTA's cities serve as their own characters for each game, and Tokyo would have been a fascinating direction. Even though GTA itself hasn't explored outside U.S. Borders much, other games inspired by the Rockstar franchise have taken the leap.
GTA-Likes That Are Based Outside of America
- Sleeping Dogs - Hong Kong
- Watch Dogs: Legion - London
- Mafia: The Old Country - Sicily
The above games are proof that the GTA formula works outside its American roots. Vermeij even claimed that GTA's once-planned Tokyo spin-off was merely the tip of the iceberg, stating, "We had ideas about GTA games in Rio de Janeiro, Moscow, and Istanbul." With GTA 6 returning to Vice City, it makes one wonder what the franchise would look like today if Rockstar had decided to move away from its American focus. Vermeij had a reason as to why Rockstar chose to stick with one country, explaining, "America is basically the epicenter of Western culture, so everybody knows the cities, even people who haven’t been there. They have a mental image of the cities." With Rockstar dealing with such large budgets, Vermeij claimed that it was simply safer to stay in the U.S., which makes sense, but it still leaves the question of "what if?" Hanging in the air.
Tokyo almost actually happened. Another studio in Japan were going to do it, take our code and do GTA: Tokyo. But then that didn’t happen in the end.
A new GTA game that took place on the busy streets of Tokyo would have been fascinating, but it looks like it will remain a case of what could have been instead of being something that will ever actually happen. A Tokyo-based GTA would have probably featured things like the Yakuza and illegal Kanjo street racing, but this is purely speculation. Even though it looks like Rockstar will never take future GTA games to a non-American city, it's really fun imagining the possible scenarios that other locations would present.
Grand Theft Auto 5
-
OpenCritic Reviews
- Top Critic Avg: 92 /100 Critics Rec: 92%
- Released
- September 17, 2013
- ESRB
- M For Mature 17+ due to Blood and Gore, Intense Violence, Mature Humor, Nudity, Strong Language, Strong Sexual Content, Use of Drugs and Alcohol
- Developer(s)
- Rockstar North
- Publisher(s)
- Rockstar Games
WHERE TO PLAY
When a young street hustler, a retired bank robber and a terrifying psychopath find themselves entangled with some of the most frightening and deranged elements of the criminal underworld, the U.S. Government and the entertainment industry, they must pull off a series of dangerous heists to survive in a ruthless city in which they can trust nobody, least of all each other.
Grand Theft Auto V for PC offers players the option to explore the award-winning world of Los Santos and Blaine County in resolutions of up to 4k and beyond, as well as the chance to experience the game running at 60 frames per second.
The game offers players a huge range of PC-specific customization options, including over 25 separate configurable settings for texture quality, shaders, tessellation, anti-aliasing and more, as well as support and extensive customization for mouse and keyboard controls. Additional options include a population density slider to control car and pedestrian traffic, as well as dual and triple monitor support, 3D compatibility, and plug-and-play controller support.
- Multiplayer
- Online Multiplayer
- Cross-Platform Play
- no
- Cross Save
- yes
- Franchise
- Grand Theft Auto
- Steam Deck Compatibility
- yes
- PC Release Date
- April 14, 2015
- Xbox Series X|S Release Date
- March 15, 2022
- PS5 Release Date
- March 15, 2022
- Genre(s)
- Open-World, Action
- Platform(s)
- Xbox Series X, Xbox Series S, Xbox One, Xbox 360, PC, PlayStation 3, PlayStation 4, PlayStation 5
- OpenCritic Rating
- Mighty
- How Long To Beat
- 32 Hours
- X|S Optimized
- Yes
- File Size Xbox Series
- 84 GB (July 2023)
- PS Plus Availability
- Extra & Premium
